Questions, answered.
Everything employers and candidates ask before commissioning, sitting, or scoring a Core Standard assessment. If it is not here, write to us.
The Core Standard is a scenario-based assessment for Executive Assistants, Private PAs, and Chief of Staff hires. Candidates complete a realistic working day across multiple modules, and their approach is scored against a expert-built rubric.
The benchmark, not the average. We do not test answers. We test approach.
Psychometrics measure traits, preferences, and styles. They are predictive of personality, not performance. The Core Standard measures what a candidate actually does when given a realistic workload: what they prioritise, how they write, how they recover from a curveball, and how they close the day.
If you want a personality overlay, TCS Match is in development and will add one. It will be an optional extra, never the whole picture.
Interviews measure how someone talks about their work. The Core Standard measures how they do it. Candidates make live decisions under realistic pressure, so employers see judgment, prioritisation, and written communication as they happen rather than as they are recalled.
Lily Shippen and Emily Partridge. Thirteen years of EA and Private PA recruitment, thirteen years sitting at the desk as Chief of Staff and Head of EA at high-growth firms. Every scenario, rubric, and reviewer note has been written by a expert.
Yes, at Level 2 and Level 3. An EA who refuses to use AI at this altitude is a hiring risk; an EA who ships whatever AI produces is a bigger one. Module 7 catches both.
The candidate is given an AI-drafted output with a deliberate flaw and asked to intervene, or asked to describe how they would use AI for a specific task and where they would stop trusting it. The module scores whether they engage with AI the way an EA should, as a capable assistant that still needs a human in the loop, not whether they have used any specific tool.
No, and we tested it directly. We ran the assessment with submissions that leaned heavily on AI, and they did not come out on top. We don’t ban AI in the assessment, because the job doesn’t ban it: a strong EA in 2026 uses it. What AI cannot supply is the judgement the role actually runs on.
The scenarios are built around the decisions AI can’t make for someone: which of three competing demands the principal really cares about today, how to word a difficult message to a board member, when to push back, when to check before acting, and what to protect the principal from. AI will hand you a competent draft; it won’t tell you it’s the wrong thing to send. The highest scores go to candidates who use AI as a capable assistant and then apply their own emotional intelligence, judgement, and EA experience on top, which is exactly what the seat demands. AI plus a great EA beats AI alone, and it beats a great EA who won’t touch AI. The assessment is built to reward the same thing the job does.
Module 8, introduced at Level 3 only. The candidate is given a KPI dashboard or a messy spreadsheet and asked to surface the three things the principal needs to know before the room. One sentence each, ordered by commercial weight.
This is not a spreadsheet skills test. No formulas, no numeracy beyond pattern recognition. The module scores what the candidate chooses to flag, and whether they can tell a genuine signal apart from a false positive. It is the single sharpest predictor we have found of whether an Executive EA will grow into an EBP or plateau at logistics.
Modules 1 to 6 are the immovable skills of the role: Inbox Triage, Simultaneous Demands, Conflicting Priorities, Calendar Rebuild, Email Drafting, Stakeholder Dilemma. They test the working-day spine every EA hires on.
Module 7 (AI Fluency, at L2 and L3) and Module 8 (Data Interpretation, at L3) exist because the profession has moved. They reflect the capability differential we see between competent EAs and outstanding ones in 2026 hiring rounds. Nothing is there to pad the time. The module stack has been rebuilt twice since 2024 and will continue to evolve on a published schedule.
Choose the stream that matches the role and check out directly via Stripe on the relevant product page. You complete a short briefing form alongside payment, and candidates receive their assessment link within a set turnaround after the brief is confirmed.
One payment, one candidate, one assessment. No subscriptions, no seat fees. If you need help picking the right stream or you are running a shortlist larger than five, email hello@thecorestandard.co.uk and we will walk you through it.
Most employers send their top three to five shortlisted candidates after first-round conversations. The Core Standard is a decision tool, not a screening tool. Use it where you need certainty, not volume.
A full written report with: overall band, per-module scoring, pillar breakdown across Prioritisation, Judgement, Communication, and Execution, red flags and standouts, disposition recommendation, and a reviewer commentary block. Typically twelve to sixteen pages.
Yes. View the sample report on our How It Works page. It is anonymised but shows the real format, scoring, and reviewer notes.
The Core Standard is often used as a confidence check before offer. One assessment, one report, 48-hour turnaround. It frequently confirms the right choice, occasionally surfaces a risk worth negotiating around, and sometimes redirects the decision entirely.
A realistic working day for a fictional principal. You will open an inbox, triage a diary, handle a curveball, draft live correspondence, and close out. One sitting, any desktop browser.
Session length depends on the level you are sitting: Level 1 is 60 minutes, Level 2 is 75 minutes, Level 3 is 90 minutes, Private PA Level 1 is 70 minutes. Every session is a hard stop. When the clock hits zero the session auto-submits whatever state your work is in. You cannot pause or extend. This mirrors the reality that a working day ends whether you are ready or not.
Before you begin, you will be asked to commit your name and consent. Answers are saved as you go, so if something goes wrong you can refresh the page and continue. Please ensure you are on a stable wifi connection before starting. If you hit a technical issue mid-simulation, email hello@thecorestandard.co.uk and we will help you recover.
There is nothing to memorise. The rubric scores approach, and each scenario changes. You will receive a short primer from the employer with what to expect, timing, and ground rules.
If you want a dry run, TCS Certified is a candidate-only bundled assessment for £175 inc. VAT. You receive your own feedback report and can share the certificate with future employers.
There is no pass mark. You receive an overall band, pillar scores, and a narrative. Employers make their hiring decision using your report alongside their interview notes, references, and their own judgment.
The employer who commissioned the assessment, and one reviewer at The Core Standard. Nothing is published, shared, or used to train AI models. If you sit TCS Certified as a candidate, you own the report and choose who sees it.
Full detail in our privacy policy.
The session is timed, with a hard stop. If the clock hits zero before you have finished, the session auto-submits whatever state your work is in. You cannot pause, step away, or return later. The session length is designed to be completed comfortably by a well-paced candidate, with a buffer on top, and the clock is there to keep the assessment fair across everyone sitting it.
If you lose connection, your answers are saved. Refresh the page to continue from where you left off. The session clock keeps running while you are away, so reconnect as quickly as you can. If you hit a technical problem you cannot recover from, email hello@thecorestandard.co.uk immediately and we will help.
We are committed to making The Core Standard accessible. Candidates who need extended time for neurodivergence, disability, or a medical reason can request a standard accommodation (additional 25% time) ahead of starting. No diagnosis or formal evidence is required; self-certification is enough. Email hello@thecorestandard.co.uk before your assessment link is issued and we will arrange it. The scenario, scoring, and reviewer process are identical; only the time allowance changes.
Session length depends on the level. Level 1 is 60 minutes, Level 2 is 75 minutes, Level 3 is 90 minutes, Private PA Level 1 is 70 minutes, Private PA Level 2 is 80 minutes, EA Manager runs 70 or 85 minutes (Standard Team / Senior Lead), and Chief of Staff is 90 minutes. Every session runs on a hard stop: the clock auto-submits whatever state the candidate's work is in when it hits zero. The link is single-use and expires after 14 days.
Standard turnaround is 48 hours from candidate submission. A rush turnaround of 24 hours is available at checkout as an add-on for £150 + VAT, for offer-stage hires or when you need the report faster.
We recommend desktop or laptop. The inbox and diary modules are designed for keyboard typing and a full-width screen. Mobile works but is not optimal.
Employer pricing, one payment per candidate:
Coming soon: TCS Match personality overlay, indicative £350 +VAT. Rush turnaround (24-hour) £150 +VAT at checkout.
TCS Certified is a candidate-only version of the assessment. You commission it yourself, sit it, and receive your own feedback report and shareable certificate. It is £175 inc. VAT across all streams; Chief of Staff Certified is in build and will price at a premium at launch.
For agencies and in-house talent teams running more than five assessments per quarter, we offer retainer pricing. Write to us to discuss.
Every response is scored against a published, behaviourally-anchored rubric across five pillars, Prioritisation, Judgement, Communication, Execution, and Partnership, and each pillar is rated on a 0 to 100 benchmark. AI generates the first pass. An expert reviews, adjusts, and signs off every report.
Red flags cap the relevant pillar at 1 for that module. Standout moves are logged and carry through to the reviewer narrative.
Lily Shippen reviews and signs off every report, across every stream, with thirteen years of specialist EA recruitment directly on the page. The rubric is co-authored with Emily Partridge, a former EA Team Manager, and the reviewer pool recalibrates against it quarterly. Every report carries a reviewer sign-off block.
Yes. The assessment is asynchronous, text-based, and completed in a quiet environment of the candidate's choosing. There is no timer-per-question, no live interviewer, and no verbal pressure. Many neurodivergent candidates outperform on a scenario-based assessment compared with live interviews.
Accommodations are available. Candidates who self-certify a need for additional time, for neurodivergence, disability, or a medical reason, receive an extra 25% on the session clock. No diagnosis or formal evidence is required. The scenario, scoring, and reviewer process are identical. Only the time allowance changes. Email hello@thecorestandard.co.uk before your assessment link is issued.
Candidates can request a review within 14 days of receiving their report. A second reviewer will re-score independently. If the second review differs by more than one band on any pillar, the report is rewritten and reissued at no cost.
No. Chief of Staff is a separate stream, not a higher EA level. It tests proxy decision-making, influence without authority, board-level written communication, and strategic synthesis. The scenarios, rubric, and reviewer are distinct.
A multi-stakeholder scenario built around a fictional group CEO. Candidates handle a board prep pack, arbitrate between two warring function heads, draft a strategic memo, respond to a live escalation, and close with a weekly priorities brief to the CEO.
Duration: 90 minutes. Report length: sixteen to twenty pages.
£1,250 +VAT for employers. £295 inc. VAT for candidates via TCS Certified Chief of Staff.
UK and EU data centres. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Full detail in our privacy policy.
No. Candidate responses are used to generate a report for the commissioning employer and are never used to train models. We use Anthropic's Claude API with enterprise data handling, which excludes prompts and responses from model training by default.
Assessment submissions and reports are retained for 12 months from completion. After that, personally identifiable data is deleted and only anonymised benchmark statistics are retained. Candidates can request earlier deletion at any time.
Yes. The Core Standard is a trading name of eavolve Ltd, registered in England and Wales under company number 15678513. Our lawful basis for processing candidate assessment data is legitimate interest (employers) and consent (candidates). See the privacy policy for full detail.